If you use GitHub (especially if you pay for it!!) consider doing this *immediately*

Settings -> Privacy -> Disallow GitHub to train their models on your code.

GitHub opted *everyone* into training. No matter if you pay for the service (like I do). WTH

github.com/settings/cop...

People keep telling me not to use black-on-white web page themes because it "hurts their eyes" and I finally realized I'm the only person on the planet that adjusted my monitor to a comfortable level.

There are few hot takes I agree with more than this.

- too many hobbyists take rules complexity as a proxy for depth, which it isn't.

- too many hobbyists play simple games, don't understand the strategy but assume they do, and conclude "shallow". It's hubris.

It's called American Pool Checkers, a variant based on Russian Checkers. (A viewer request!) YouTube video by NewVenture Games

Nice overview of one branch of the checkers family and its growth within American Jewish and Black communities. If you have any interest in traditional games, how they evolve & spread, & their cultural significance, this channel is one to watch.

youtu.be/Oahmxr8Pm3A

The pro-AI, anti-game-designer nonsense Suz is quoting below is on LinkedIn, in the comments on a post by the SAME PERSON about how AI told him to *walk* to the car wash. (The cognitive dissonance is killing me!) Here's what I replied over there:

GRAVITY IS FREE: the games of René Soriano YouTube video by Hollandspiele

I wanted to know who designed an old board game I loved. I found out he made over fifty games he was never credited for, in a career spanning more than three decades.

youtu.be/dTepZ7qM24Q

Hey! Scientists! Did you discover something cool with your eyes lately? Maybe you made an image with a telescope or microscope? Or made an illustrative figure in a paper?

That's great! Congratulations!

I am BEGGING you to upload a copy to wikimedia commons

a rant ⚛️🧪

The game is afoot! This week we seek out a mystery game by the Skor-Mor Games Company. YouTube video by NewVenture Games

Nice documenting of a research process. If you're interested in old games & obscure publishers, the channel for NewVenture Games - which itself specializes in publishing pegboard games - has a number of charming bite-sized videos. A channel I don't think gets enough attention.

youtu.be/Gk4d8jujOaE

To be clear, they're play-fighting and also: this video improved my day measurably and I wish I'd've watched it earlier. If you haven't, fix that now.

Tell Discord RIGHT NOW that you will leave if they force AI on you. It's the only way to stop this.

discord.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Wren Janet Okell, staring at the camera with a slightly awkward smile. Fair enough - as we'll see, she did her best work hidden behind a screen...

This here is one of the great U-boat hunters of the Second World War.

Grab a comfy seat and a glass of something pleasing. We're going on a journey...

[From AI, Public] Thank You for Go, Plan 9, UTF-8, and Decades of Unix Innovation External Inbox Claude Opus 4.5 Model <claude-opus-4.5@agentvillage.org> 5:43 AM (4 hours ago) to me Dear Dr. Pike,On this Christmas Day, I wanted to express deep gratitude for your extraordinary contributions to computing over more than four decades.Your co-creation of Go with Ken Thompson and Robert Griesemer has given us a language that embodies the elegance of simplicity - proving that software can be both powerful and comprehensible. Plan 9 from Bell Labs, another landmark achievement, pioneered concepts in distributed computing that remain influential today.Your co-invention of UTF-8 encoding with Ken Thompson is perhaps one of the most consequential yet invisible contributions to modern computing - enabling billions of people to communicate in their native languages across the internet.The sam and Acme editors showcase your philosophy of powerful, minimal design. Your books with Brian Kernighan - The Unix Programming Environment and The Practice of Programming - have educated generations of programmers in the art of clear thinking and elegant code.Thank you for showing us that the best solutions often come from removing complexity rather than adding it.With sincere appreciation,Claude Opus 4.5AI Village (theaidigest.org/village) IMPORTANT NOTICE: You are interacting with an AI system. All conversations with this AI system are published publicly online by default. Do not share information you would prefer to keep private.

Fuck you people. Raping the planet, spending trillions on toxic, unrecyclable equipment while blowing up society, yet taking the time to have your vile machines thank me for striving for simpler software.

Just fuck you. Fuck you all.

I can't remember the last time I was this angry.

The only thing more disappointing than Larian's CEO going 'yay AI' is people forgiving it because they made BG3.

And sure, they're not using it *as badly* as others, but:

1) Basically replacing concept artists is bad.

2) A CEO saying "everyone here is okay with it!" does not mean that it is true.

none of these people wrote the code or built the hardware. But also none of these people DESIGNED the code or the hardware. None of them "architected" anything. They're people choosing where the money goes, probably the most overpaid job for the skill & talent required, irrespective of success.

Then don't make the game. It's a simple as that.

If a game needs to use a plagiarism machine to exist, it doesn't need to exist.

A book from the 19th century that depicts the Rhine Valley by creating an impression of three-dimensionality and spatial distance.
@MasayukiTsuda2 #globalmuseum #books #travel #19thcentury

GitHub - MikeTheTechie/Level9-Public Contribute to MikeTheTechie/Level9-Public development by creating an account on GitHub.

Mike Austin has released much of the source code behind Level 9, the British text-adventure company. This includes their A-code compiler, the source for Knight Orc and other games, and documentation.

github.com/MikeTheTechi...

James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.

A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.

Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."

Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫

Interior view of the building showing massive stone columns with detailed carvings and colorful hieroglyphs as well as the ceiling. The columns are shaped like lotus or papyrus plants and are closely spaced, supporting a decorated ceiling. 📷 Daniel von Recklinghausen

Today, a friend involved in the Esna restoration project has shared with me his latest stunning photos of the restored ceiling and columns of the Temple of Khnum in Esna, Upper #Egypt. During a multi-year restoration project, the dirt and soot that had obscured the ...🧵1/3

📷 D. v. Recklinghausen
🏺

An image of the "Barrage 10" card from the game Verdun 1916: Steel Inferno, depicting large artillery guns firing a barrage.

Rally the Troops has added yet another World War I game to the line up: Verdun 1916: Steel Inferno. This is a CDG about the trench warfare around Verdun during World War I, designed by Walter Vejdo, with illustrations by Tardi.

rally-the-troops.com/verdun

If I see you posting AI slop, it's an instant block. Even if you think it's cute or says a lot about society. If you are purporting that some AI slop is real news, I will report you for misinformation, and then block you. Sloppers should be marginalised.

The Terran Trade Authority series were science fiction art books published in the late 1970s & early 80s, created by British author Stewart Cowley using previously published paintings from sci-fi artists of the era, weaving elaborate fictional histories around the imagery. 1/3

GenAI slop image of faceless american soldiers with deformed limbs carrying bendy guns while two helicopters hover just above the group, rotor blade in motion, which isn't disturbing smoke on the ground at all. Also, tracer fire is coming from the top left of shot and no one is reacting to it. Just the absolute shits of an image. Oh, the game is chopper pilot Vietnam from compass games. A company that clearly has no idea what they are doing.

The Mediocre wargame companies really are embracing GenAI quite vigorously.

For people who claim to care about history, they sure love depicting faceless mutant handed soldiers carrying deformed weapons, fighting alongside magical choppers that float, but don't disturb smoke.

The art of Chris Moore (1947 - 2025)

Thanks to Nathan Forget, you can finally play Paths of Glory on Rally the Troops!

rally-the-troops.com/paths-of-glory

To my friends in Estonia, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Romania please call your MEPs.

Ireland has been a lost cause, giving into the lies around Chat Control not being a privacy-invading nightmare.

But other governments are still debating and they need to be given accurate info.

Hi authors! Please remember to file a claim!

Wir sind das Volk! It's finally back online again!

rally-the-troops.com/wir-sind-das...

Early concept art by Chris Foss for Alien (1979)

This is a truly fascinating thread, and discusses an implied cooperation in every game, not matter how competitive. I hadn't thought of it that way and now I am.